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Toy Story: Mister Spaceman

Prologue: Lift-off

The sister's ears are closed to the world, if not her eyes.

Ten times she's said goodbye to the brother. Ten times words have come out of her mouth. Words such as "I'll miss you," and "are you sure I can't have your stuff?" Sometimes, accompanied by movements such as hugs, and sniffs, and the twisting of one foot behind the other.

Come the eleventh, no words are uttered, as the brother finally…finally…drives off. Off to college, off to another world, off, off, and away. She stands on the front lawn of the house she's lived in as long as she can remember. This isn't the first time her brother and mother has moved, but memories of those days evade her memory. Long faded.

With one hand, she holds the mother's. With the other, she waves goodbye to the brother. At the receding blue car heading off down the road – purchased as a 17th birthday present, second-hand. She likes to think that he's waving back, but already, he's out of sight, if not out of mind.

The mother isn't saying anything. The dog lets out a whine that says more than any of his owners ever could. She wants to say something to lighten the mood, but she can read the room – best not to say anything at all. Granted, they're not in a room at all, but she can read it. She can see. She can hear the mother sniff, and the hum of the brother's car recede.

There's a fancy word for that, but she can't remember.

The brother. He's the smart one. He's the one going to college after all. He's the one who's left her alone, with the mother to look after her.

"You okay, mum?"

And for her to look after the mother in turn.

"He'll be back someday."

The mother looks down at her. Smiles. Brushes some hair to the side. Whispers, "of course."

"This is still his home." Even if you've emptied his room.

She doesn't get that, even now. The brother's coming back. There was no need to put all of his stuff in the attic. There's going to be some open room in this house, acting as an open wound. A festering sore. A reminder of the brother's absence, and the possibility that the absence will be permanent.

"Course it is," the mother says, her eyes conveying her lack of conviction, even if her voice is steady. "Anyway. How about lunch?"

"I'm fine, mum." She begins to walk inside.

"Molly, fried noodles aren't lunch."

She walks faster.

"Molly!"

The dog whines. The mother yells. The daughgter sighs, and puts on a pair of ear plugs, and hits "play" on her iPod.

Woke up this morning with light in my eyes,

And then realized it was still dark outside.

It was a light coming down from the sky.

I don't know who or why.

Despite what the song says, it's afternoon. It's May, and summer has come. The sun is shining brightly, eclipsing all the other lights in the sky.

Must be those strangers that come every night,

Whose saucers shaped light put people up tight.

She isn't counting on spaceships descending from those stars. Nor is she counting on the mother to let the issue of lunch go. Or homework. Or chores. Or anything else.

She enters her room, and closes the door, but not before letting the dog inside. As she sits on her bed, she looks around – three days ago, the mother had the daughter clear out some of her old junk, and already, she's missing it. There's an emptiness here, she reflects. One that comes from her possessions so hastily given away.

Or, she realizes, as the doglets out a yawn, it's nothing to do with the toys at all. As she turns up the volume and picks up this month's edition of Tween Magazine, she reflects that she knows exactly what it is.

Leave blue green footprints that glow in the dark,

I hope they get home all right.

Like the song, she hopes that the brother…her brother…finds his way home alright as well.

Hey Mr. Spaceman, won't you please take me along,

I won't do anything wrong.

For his sake.

Hey Mr. Spaceman, won't you please take me along,

For a ride.

And hers.

The brother's eyes are open to the world, as are his ears.

With his eyes, he can see a young girl in a pink tutu looking out at him. Holding a pair of toys that he once held with the same sense of security. The same warmth. The same innocence.

Innocence dies as one grows older. As one lives.

With his eyes, he sees his own childhood look back at him. And with his ears, he hears the words "thanks guys leave his tongue" before his hand turns, and the sound of an engine fills them instead.

The car's second-hand. But its engine is good. He has a long drive to college, and he wants to make it by evening. He wants to make it without having to endure another goodbye.

His mother. His sister. His canine companion. And now, companions of a different, yet similar kind.

He watches them recede in the rearview mirror. The daughter. The mother. Someday, she'll make the same journey. Someday, goodbyes of a similar kind will be uttered. For a moment, he considers dropping in on home again.

One last goodbye…

Or not. He's given so many goodbyes today. He's said goodbyes before. To another house, like this one. And there's been times when no goodbyes were given. Like his father…

His foot pressing on the accelerator, he turns on the car's radio.

Woke up this morning, I was feeling quite weird

Had flies in my beer, my tooth paste was smeared.

He doesn't drink beer. He brushed his teeth this morning without incident. But he did wake up, and did feel weird…sad…happy…no different from how he's feeling now, really.

I opened my window, they'd written my name,

Said: "So long, we'll see you again."

He'll be home one day. One year, three, or more, he'll be back. Even if, come to think of it, he's not sure if he actually said that.

Hey Mr. Spaceman, won't you please take me along,

I won't do anything wrong.

Hey Mr. Spaceman, won't you please take me along,

For a ride.

He rolls down the window, and lets the summer air wash over him. He turns up the volume, and lets the music play. Loud enough to drown out the sound of the world, if not his memory. Of cowboys.

"So then," he murmurs. "Lift-off."

Of spacemen.

Won't you please take me along for a ride?

Of those no longer with him.

And who never will be again.

A/N

So, this started out as a oneshot, but ended up being a multi-chaptered story. I'll explain what gave the idea for it in the next chapter, since can't really do so here without getting into...okay, maybe not spoilers per se, but it's not the best time to deal with that. Truth be told, despite being the prologue, this is the last part of the story that I wrote, as I wanted a better segway from Toy Story 3 into the plot, rather than jumping straight in.

Anyway, mixed on how the story turned out, since I rarely do this kind of story (at least multi-chaptered), but I guess we'll see how things turn out.

Also note that credit for the cover image goes to Amazingangus76 of DeviantArt, which has been used with permission. Can't link to their page here, but do a search, should be able to come up.